Just in time for Halloween, we’re back to feature all those creepy, kooky, and scary characters of comic book lore! This time, we’re going to take a look at monsters from the vaunted House of Ideas. So, enter, if you dare, for Comic Book Monsters 2012: The Mighty Merry Marvel Edition!
Comic Book Monsters – October 12th: MODOK
I’d like to say that MODOK (an acronym for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, though he’s also gone by MODOC with the C standing for Computing), had humble beginnings, but he actually has quite the opposite. As AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) technician George Tarleton, he had created the Cosmic Cube – one of the most sought after items in all the Marvel U. When AIM wished to do more advance study of the object and improve it, they take Tarleton and transform him into the super-intelligent MODOC. However, that would soon turn to MODOK when he decided to kill his former handlers.
MODOK in all his big head, tiny limb glory.
MODOK would rise to the top of the AIM organization, but his unsatiable hunger for revenge against anyone that would oppose him or his plans would ultimately lead to discontent within the organization. This obsession would eventually lead to AIM to depose him. In an attempt to regain control AIM, MODOK let a never agent into New York City, but he’s eventually stopped by Ms. Marvel with help from Vision. This causes yet another target of revenge for the big-headed creep in Ms. Marvel.
MODOK minus his chair. Look at that melon!
Ultimately, AIM gets fed up with MODOK. His wild experiments and the constant desire to get back at the heroes who stopped him before lead the organizations to hire the Serpent Society to assassinate him. Death Adder eventually gets credit for the kill, and upon returning the lifeless body to AIM, the organization uses it as a computer. When a rogue AIM agent activates the body to try to kill Iron Man, the battle results in the destruction of MODOK’s body.
MODOK is eventually resurrected when AIM needs his assistance to create a new Cosmic Cube. A whole new cycle of revenge plots and battles with the superhero community begins. A short time after his return, MODOK would be lobotomized and used to infiltrate spy satellites and monkey about with the stock market, but he shakes off that bad bout of lobotomy and ends up getting arrested.
Despite renegade AIM branches attempting to kill MODOK, he is able to establish his control over the organization again. At this time he also joins the Intelligencia, a collection of some of the smartest supervillains in the world. There, he would assist in the experiments that would turn Bruce Banner’s friends into new gamma irradiated Hulks. He would also participate in the subjugation of several heroes and when Amadeus Cho’s reaction to the to the Cathexis ray used to transfer radiant energy from one subject to another, Cho is able to manipulate reality within a particular radius. Using this, he transforms MODOK back into George Tarleton and he’s arrested by the US military. Bruce Banner tries to consult Tarleton to help stop some doomsday plans that MODOK installed as a big ol’ middle finger should he be foiled (yet again). Tarleton, however, seems to not recall anything he did as MODOK, and might actually not be as intelligent as originally believed.
MODOK Superior
MODOK’s doomsday plans are actually being controlled by a cluster of non-sentient brains that were grown as clones from the original. One of which begins to grow and form its own conscience, thus creating a new MODOK (with the spiffy new “Superior” tacked on after his name to let you know he’s for real). This new MODOK Superior also has several other little MODOK-like pawns made from different people and creatures.
That does it for today’s Comic Book Monsters article. I know I could have gone into more about the other big headed beings either created by AIM to replace MODOK (MODAM) or created by MODOK himself (Dr. Katherine Waynesboro), but meh… Really they are all basically the same thing with different genders. How many crazy big headed creatures do I need to really talk about? That being said, let’s shift away from crazy big heads to a flat out crazy big murderer. Check out tomorrow’s Comic Book Monster who just so happens to be to certain Canadian mutant’s worst nightmare…